Stranded In Alagaesia
by Bero.o
Summary: Meeting your favorite characters...in their world...that is just the ultimate dream of every fangirl, right? It sure is for Bero and Wiktoria! And boy, does their dream come true, but is it really what they wanted? Follow the silliness of two very...VERY... normal girls as they find themselves in the amazing world of Alagaësia! Co-written with an awesome friend :)
1. Chapter 1: Discovery

*Disclaimer: we do not own any of the characters from the Inheritance Cycle...we just like messing with them XD...and we might have strayed a bit from the original story...

It was an extraordinarily bright, sunny day, which two very normal girls were fully enjoying by being stuck inside and messaging each other!

"Durza is so amazing," wrote Bero who was currently laying on her bed with nothing else to do but message her online friend, Wiktoria. Well, maybe she still did have all those boring chores to do, but they were...well, boring. Nope, talking with her friend was definitely the best way to use her time, especially when they were talking about their favorite book, Eragon. And currently, they had been...what's that word?...oh right, _fangirling_. They were fangirling over one of their favorite characters, Durza. Bero could only imagine how awesome it would be to meet him someday, but sadly he was just a fictional character. Oh, why was the world so cruel!

"Yeah, he is, it's so sad he is not real," answered Wiktoria fast, thinking about how much she'd like to hug him. Unlike Bero, Wiktoria didn't have any chores to do right now, but she did have homework, and who knows which is worse. But how could anyone not want to talk about Eragon? "I'd love to travel to Alageasia," she added and smiled to her phone as she imagined it.

"Me too! Or kidnap Christopher Paolini, maybe he knows how to get there," wrote Bero and giggled to herself, as if such a thing could ever exist. It would be a miracle!

"We have to make a plan for kidnapping him," wrote Wiktoria, and laughed, "or just call him and politely ask. Wait, I had his number somewhere..."

"Wait what?! You have his number?! That's awesome!," wrote Bero quickly, although she knew Wiktoria was joking around. "But kidnapping sounds much more fun!" She added.

"Yup... And no, I don't have his number. I think I lost it somewhere in Weasleys' house," giggled Wiktoria as she sent the message, "so we can kidnap him."

"Oh no! Why would you ever lose such a thing! Maybe you can send them an owl and ask if they could look for it. But meanwhile, we're kidnapping him!" wrote Bero, already figuring out a plan.

"But how do you want to do this?" asked Wiktoria with an evil grin on her face.

"Hmmm, well, we have to figure out where he is at, so first we have to stalk him! On all the social medias!" wrote Bero excitedly as she laughed to herself. Good thing she was alone at home or else her family would think she was crazy. Oh, wait a sec...they already think she is.

"Nah. I already do this. All the social media. All," answered Wiktoria. "What next? I think he is somewhere in Hogwarts. But being serious, I saw his post on Twitter and it says he is in England. How will we get there," she asked, trying to come up with an idea.

" _In England?_ " thought Bero, " _how in the world will we ever get there, think Bero, think!_ " She had absolutely no idea how they would get there so she just sent the first thing that came to her mind. "How about..umm...using our imagination.

"Okay! I just imagined a car!" wrote Wiktoria and she almost fell off the chair she was sitting on. "Nope, it's not working," she added after some minutes.

"Aww, let me try!" wrote Bero and then closed her eyes and tried to imagine them both apparating into England, and...

And she opened her eyes, but she was still in her room. "Darn it!" she cursed and then messaged her friend disappointedly, "nope, it didn't work for me either."

"Hey, talk to you later. I gotta go study for biology class. And I think there will be storm. It is raining now and I swear I saw lightning a few seconds ago," wrote Wiktoria, watching the weather outside.

"Aww okay, and that sucks, lightning scares me!" wrote Bero and looked outside, glad it was a sunny day where she was, but was surprised to find that the sky was suddenly gray. _"I wonder what's up with that."_

"I think I'll be back in 30 minutes. I have to do some biological tasks," wrote Wiktoria and opened the biology book that had been sitting on the desk in front of her, waiting to be noticed.

"Okay, have fun!" wrote Bero. Meanwhile, she had to find a way to kidnap Christopher, so she went to get a notebook and began trying to write down some ideas.

"I won't have fun dealing with those adeze... I don't even know how to write it," laughed Wiktoria as she replied.

"Adeze? Sounds terrible :p what are you even studying?" replied Bero and then took a look at her notebook. All her ideas were just unthinkable.

"I'm studying now DNA, RNA and those kind of things... Ado... Adeno something," typed Wiktoria and then wrote something down on her book.

"Adeno? I don't remember ever studying about that. I was probably sleeping in class ?," wrote Bero and smiled to herself.

"Probably me too, because I can't remember it. Ugh. Another lightning," wrote Wiktoria, watching as the storm started to form, then went back to her book. "Ha, I got it. Adenosine triphosphate, as my book says," she added after checking it.

"Adenosine triphosphate? Well that's a mouthful. Do we ever even need this in life?" wrote Bero and then jumped as she heard rain began to fall outside.

"I think we need it but I don't know why... I should have studied harder, though," smiled Wiktoria to herself.

"Yeah I guess, I still don't see how it could be useful. Is there always lightning where you live?" asked Bero, a bit weirded out with the sudden change of weather.

"No, not always, but sometimes. I like it, but only when I'm at home and when I feel safe. How's the weather like where you live?" asked Wiktoria in return, wondering if Bero was having a sunny, warm day.

"Well, it's usually sunny, but all of a sudden the sky is grey and it's raining... I wonder why?" she asked as she stared outside.

"Maybe the storm is coming," wrote Wiktoria and waited for Bero's answer.

"Storm? I hope not! they are scary!" wrote Bero and all of a sudden, she saw lighting. "I think I just saw lightning...I'm going to check the news," she added and left to go check.

"Go ahead, I'll wait," wrote Wiktoria politely and then added, "what the hell? I think I heard something. That's strange," as she heard weird sounds coming from another room in her house.

Bero stood up from her bed and went to turn on the tv to the news, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "That's weird, there isn't any other sign of a storm," she wrote.

"That's strange, Bero... Hey, another sound... I'm too scared to look what was that," answered Wiktoria and jumped as she heard the sound of breaking glass from the kitchen.

"Are you okay? Is anybody else home with you?" asked Bero. She was starting to get scared, there had never before been that much thunder and rain where she lived.

"I'm all alone now and I swear I heard a voice," answered Wiktoria, scared.

"Maybe someone came home? Are you sure it's no one in your family?" asked Bero, hoping Wiktoria was alright. Meanwhile, she also began to hear sounds, _"Nah I'm just imagining things, must be the storm._ "

"Nobody is home. My family went to my grandma about an hour ago. I heard steps and again a voice! I'm pretty sure that was a man," answered Wiktoria.

"Calm down, try looking for something to hit someone with...you know, just in case...and ummm call your parents," suggested Bero, not sure what Wiktoria should actually do. She was starting to get scared herself, and she couldn't actually do anything to help Wiktoria out.

"I can hit him with my laptop. Maybe I'm just freaking out because of lightnings..." she wrote and tried to calm down. _"There was somebody in my house! Maybe I should hide somewhere or attack him.. or maybe not."_

"I think he's gone," she wrote after hearing nothing for a long time.

"Okay, just uh, stay in your room, just in case..." wrote Bero as it began to rain harder. She looked out the window and thought she saw someone outside looking at her...she blinked and it disappeared. _"Weird..."_

"I'll stay here. Thanks. I wonder when this weird storm will end," wrote Wiktoria, watching how the tree fought with the wind.

"Okay," wrote Bero. Suddenly, the room she was in started getting colder, and it felt as if the storm had gotten inside instead of being outside, "Umm Wiktoria, this may sound weird, but I think it's windy...inside my house...is that even possible?"

"You felt that too? It is cold inside my room," asked Wiktoria, shaking because of the cold. "It's like it's windy inside," she added.

"Something's definitely not right...", the pages in Bero's notebook fluttered until it was knocked out of her bed and the objects from the shelves in her room were thrown to the floor.

"Maybe that's because of adeno... something," wrote Wiktoria and she laughed a little.

"Adeno? How can that have anything to do here...what is adeno anyway?" asked Bero, not sure how some DNA thing could have brought a storm inside her house.

"Who cares what adeno is...it's like a big hurricane inside my room!" wrote Wiktoria and then her phone flew out the window.

"Are you okay, wha-" began typing Bero, but she was suddenly thrown to the floor by the huge gusts of winds that kept growing stronger and stronger. _"Uh-oh, what did I do wrong in my life?"_ she asked herself as she covered her head with her arms.

 _"That started to be really weird. I won't have a new phone for 2 years now"_ thought Wiktoria after her phone landed outside her house. Suddenly the wind threw her away out of her room. _"Great,"_ she thought and after that, the wind threw her against a tree, and she lost consciousness.

Bero covered herself and crawled behind her bed so the wind wouldn't hit her too much. She kept a tight grip on her phone as she tried to message Wiktoria again, but she wasn't responding. The wind kept getting stronger and she couldn't see anymore. She hugged her knees and hid her face, terrified with the weird events going on around her and hoping it would just stop.

All of a sudden, the wind did stop. Carefully, Bero opened her eyes and was surprised to find she wasn't in her room anymore. "Where am I?" she whispered in wonder.

She stood up and looked around, finding herself to be in a small clearing surrounded by huge pine trees. " Wow," she said quietly as she walked around. ' _Am I dreaming...or am I dead? '_

Something caught the corner of her eye and she turned to see what it was. She quickly took a step backwards, startled as she saw a girl lying on the ground a few feet away, her blonde hair covering her face.

"Hello? " Bero softly called out to her. There was no response so she carefully got closer to the girl and kneeled by her. She reached her hand out, hesitating for a few seconds before shaking the girl's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Uh, what," the girl opened her eyes slowly and looked around "Where am I," she asked herself and sat up, "and who are you? This place doesn't look like my room."

"I..I don't know, I was in my room and then there was a storm and now I am here. My name is Bero, and you are?" asked Bero and reached her hand out to help the girl get up.

"I am Wiktoria. I know one Bero," laughed the girl. "Thanks," she said, getting up with Bero's help.

"Wiktoria? I know a Wiktoria...". _"Could it be?"_ thought Bero.

"I was writing with the Bero I know when the storm started," answered Wiktoria, staring at the brown haired girl. "Is that possible?"

"I uh, me too, I was messaging Wiktoria when all of a sudden the storm hit..." "It's too much of a coincidence...it must be!"

"Is it possible you are the girl I was messaging with? But how...?"

"It must be," said Bero, then gasped, "maybe it's the Adeno!"

"Adeno what?" laughed Wiktoria out loud.

"The adeno you were studying about! It could be couldn't it?" asked Bero feeling a bit silly for saying it.

"YEAH! That was adeno! I'm sure about it," said Wiktoria who couldn't stop laughing now.

"It doesn't matter, I just can't believe it's really you!" exclaimed Bero who hugged Wiktoria feeling happy to meet her even though it was a bit freaky that they were both there, wherever there was.

Wiktoria hugged back Bero and asked, "but where are we?" They looked around, wondering where they were. Then they heard something. It sounded like a small talk between two men. Wiktoria walked a little bit closer to the sound. A couple of trees away from where they stood was a dirt path. Wiktoria hid behind the trees, watching with wide eyes at the sight before her.

"Oh my God Bero, come here! Look!" She whispered frantically.

"What is it?" asked Bero, confused as to why Wiktoria was excited.

"There are two people. Maybe you know them...because I think I know," she pointed at them, wanting to show Bero.

Bero went to hide beside Wiktoria and looked towards where she was pointing at. "Is that who I think it is?"


	2. Chapter 2: Trust Issues

Wiktoria and Bero kept staring straight ahead at the sight in front of them, unable to look away.

"And who do you think it is?" asked Wiktoria, turning away to look at Bero.

"It can't be, though...I think...they seem awfully familiar. Eragon?" answered Bero and looked at Wiktoria.

"Yup... What is going on there?" asked Wiktoria surprised.

"Who knows...should we barge in?" asked Bero

"Maybe yes... We should ask where we are," said Wiktoria hesitantly.

"Okay then," said Bero nervously and excited. _"Could it really be them? Only one way to find out!"_ "Let's go!" she exclaimed and stepped out of the hiding place and waited for Wiktoria. "I hope they don't think we are weird...especially since our clothes are different," said Bero, noticing that their clothes were way different than what the two men in front of them were wearing.

"I hope not...our clothes can seem weird... I hope they'll think we're on their side," said Wiktoria nervously and she followed Bero.

"Yep, we wouldn't want them to attack us!" exclaimed Bero quietly as they carefully walked towards them. The two men were deep in conversation and had not yet noticed them getting nearer. Once they were close, Bero cleared her throat softly before speaking out to the two men. "Umm..excuse me?"

"We wanted to ask..." spoke Wiktoria quietly.

"Where are we?" gulped Bero as the two men turned around on their horses around to see who had spoken. _'It's okay Bero, don't panic, whatever you do, don't panic!'_

Wiktoria looked at Bero and at the two people standing before them, waiting for an answer.

"In a forest, don't you see?" answered the younger boy.

"Eragon, I think they asked for something else," the older man smiled. "Who are you?" he asked the two girls.

Bero froze for a bit, _'Oh my God! He just said Eragon! And I bet that's Brom!'_ and then she answered quietly, "well, yeah a forest..." and looked away.

"I asked, who are you?" the older man repeated, with his hand on his sword, ready to attack.

"You're not from around here, are you now?" asked the younger boy, who they guessed was Eragon. Both of them were starting to look menacing. "I..I'm Bero..a..and this is my friend Wiktoria," said Bero, feeling scared.

"Yup. That's right. I'm Wiktoria. Definitely true, no lies," she laughed nervously, feeling scared and lost.

"Y..yeah, what she said. And we are lost, that's why we don't know where we are, Brom."

The old man looked at them suspiciously. These girls were very strange looking and he couldn't figure out their intentions. But his eyes widened in surprise when Bero said his name before turning into narrow slits. "How do you know my name?" he asked. _'uh oh, now what did I do?'_ thought Bero.

"That's really suspicious, don't you think?" Eragon asked Brom, still holding his hand on his sword.

"We heard you talking! That's all! It's not like we've read your life in a book and have spent years fangirling and hoping to meet you, nope not at all," said Bero really fast and then glanced at Wiktoria nervously.

"That's true!" smiled Wiktoria nervously to Bero. _'We definitely look suspicious'_ she thought.

"What are they talking about? What will we do?" Eragon asked Brom quietly.

 _'Oh no, what am I doing?'_ "It's just uh, a little joke between my friend and I here," laughed Bero nervously, "we are just lost and really have no idea where we are, or who you are, could you please help us?"

Eragon looked at Brom, he thought they were acting really strange, and how could they know their names? "How do we know you aren't spies?" he asked

"Uhm... I guess we could prove it...let me think " said Wiktoria."No, I don't think we can prove it in any way.." she added quietly, with fear clear in her eyes.

"You can search us! We have no weapons or anything really...no food or water..just what we're wearing," said Bero, who was starting to feel a bit hungry, but ignored it seeing the current situation they were in.

"And your clothes are really strange," said Eragon, after he realized that the girls were not dressed like anything he had ever seen before.

"Well, yes, I guess so, but we can't harm you..." said Bero, wishing Brom and Eragon wouldn't look at them so suspiciously.

"But we can't know that for sure," said Brom.

"Please, just help us! If we try anything, you can just attack us, but we promise we won't do anything!" exclaimed Bero, starting to feel scared, "Right, Wiktoria?"

"Right. We are not that stupid to attack two men who have weapons," hissed Wiktoria. She was feeling confused, scared, and starting to be a little bit mad. Mad at them and at all this trouble. When she hissed like that, Brom looked at her suspiciously and raised his eyebrow.

They waited for a moment, wondering what they would do. "Well, they don't have any weapons, and they look harmless," whispered Eragon to Brom.

"Never underestimate someone," answered Brom back. Then he looked at both of them sternly, "Where do you two come from?"

Wiktoria looked at Bero nervously. "We are not from the same place...actually, we're both from other countries," she answered, aware of everything she said.

"And from where? Which countries, as you said?" asked Eragon, looking at the girls.

"Well they are countries...but not from around here, but they do exist!" said Bero, babbling again.

Eragon and Brom looked at each other, not knowing if the girls were suspicious or just straight out weird.

"Yup, she is right. You shouldn't be afraid of us... ," said Wiktoria quietly, with almost whispering voice . "We're just ordinary girls... Hehe. But okay, you both don't have to help us, just leave us here. We will die here, that's okay, sure, leave us. We will cry in the corner because of cold and hunger... " she murmured, looking at them.

"Ugh...we can't leave them here...,"Eragon sighed, looking at the girls with some kind of pity in his eyes.

"Well then don't leave us here!" said Bero, getting impatient. "We can't, and won't, do anything to you. In fact, we'll help you! In whatever you need, like cooking, which I can't do, and other stuff!"

"You can't cook too?" Wiktoria asked Bero, surprised, and smiled.

"What kind of woman can't cook?" asked Eragon, raising his eyebrow.

"Me, for example,"answered Wiktoria quickly.

"And me. But I'm pretty sure it's easy, just let the food cook on the fire for a certain amount of time, just not too long or it will burn or something like that," answered Bero.

Eragon looked at the girls exasperated. "Well, what can you do? You are just going to be a burden to us! Can you hunt? And how will you travel? You don't even have horses!"

"Oh come on! If you don't want to help us, just give us some food and water and we'll take care of ourselves!" hissed Wiktoria angrily.

Eragon looked at Brom, taken aback by the sudden burst of anger. "Fine, we'll take you," grumbled Brom. Maybe they were just overreacting, after all, under the current circumstances they were in, they were kind of in a hurry as time quickly ran against them. But then again, these girls were odd. And he couldn't help but have a strange feeling about them.

"Thank you!" murmured Wiktoria, and then whispered to Bero happily, "ha, I did it."

"Yay! You won't regret it!" said Bero smiling and then whispered back to Wiktoria, "good going!"

"So, where will we go? "asked Wiktoria, "we can go on foot because we don't have horses."

"I already am," muttered Brom, "and we are dropping you off in the next village."

"Okay! Thank you! I always knew a Dragon Rider would take care of a damsel in distress...and we were kind of them," laughed Wiktoria.

Both Eragon and Brom froze when Wiktoria said 'Dragon Rider.' "That's it! You better start talking," said Brom angrily and reached for his sword, "we never said we were Dragon Riders so you better tell us who you really are and what do you want."

"Uh oh..," whispered Bero.

"Uh oh...I'm sorry I guess...,"said Wiktoria looking scared.

"Should we just tell them the truth, or should we run?"Bero whispered to Wiktoria as Brom and Eragon waited for an answer.

"They won't believe us so let's just run," answered Wiktoria and they both ran for their dear lives. But being as Eragon and Brom were still riding their horses, they easily caught up with the girls and surrounded them, their swords out and ready to attack.

"Hey! Careful with that!" exclaimed Bero and she held her hands up in front of her.

"Then start talking," said Brom.

"I...I'm really sorry for what I said, I didn't want to make you angry...I don't want to die!" cried out Wiktoria terrified, "I'm too young to die!"

"Yeah, me neither! We just can't tell you because you wouldn't believe us!" spoke Bero quickly.

"Yeah, you won't believe us so we won't tell you!" added Wiktoria nervously and she closed her eyes, preparing for the worst thing that could happen to them. Her body was shaking and she wanted to run but she couldn't. She remained quiet, waiting for their next move.

"You have no other choice than to tell us," spoke Brom, "so hurry up, before we get even more impatient!"

"We really can't!" said Bero desperately, "but we swear we don't want to hurt you, or even could if we wanted to!"

Eragon looked back and forth between the girls and Brom. The girls looked innocent but had been acting very suspicious since the first word they had spoken. But were they dangerous? "Why can't you tell us? And how do you know I am a Dragon Rider?" he asked them.

"It's a really long story and you will end up thinking we are crazy!" answered Bero.

 _'We already do,'_ thought Eragon to himself.

"Can we go with you? Please? If you're afraid that we will hurt you, we can go on foot, so we can't do anything...," said Wiktoria impatiently. _'That will take a miracle if they don't kill us. And I'm hungry. Give me some food!'_

"Do you two always take so long to decide?" asked Bero who was also getting impatient.

"Okay!" answered Brom angrily, "we will take you, but if you try anything..."

"We know, we know, you will kill us!" said Bero exasperatedly.

Wiktoria laughed for no reason and then said, "Thank you once again, can I have some food? I guess you don't have pizza, so anything will be okay."

"Pizza? What is pizza?" asked Eragon looking puzzled.

 _'Mmmm, pizza would be great,'_ thought Bero, already savoring the yummy flavor.

"Too much to explain.." Wiktoria rolled her eyes, "maybe I'll cook it for you someday. It's quite popular where I live, " she said trying to sound nice.

Brom looked into their bags and took out two pieces of bread and handed them to the girls.

"Thank you..." said Bero, wishing she could turn it into pizza. Ah well.

"Thanks! And now we can go!" smiled Wiktoria and took a bite of the bread. ' _I hope there is no poison inside or something.'_

"Alright, let's go," said Brom and both he and Eragon started to leave. But Brom sighed and turned back around to face the girls, "okay one of you can ride with me."

 _'And which one?...ugh..'_ thought Wiktoria. "So...who?"

"Whichever, now hurry up, we have urgent business to get to. The other one can go with Eragon."

 _'Yes!'_ cheered Bero mentally. She really didn't want to go walking, but who would go with who?

"Ehym...who will you go with?" whispered Wiktoria to Bero.

"Umm...I guess I'll go with Brom and you can go with Eragon," whispered Bero back.

"Okay, thanks," whispered Wiktoria and then said out loud, "I'll go with Eragon."

"And I'll go with Mr. Grumpy," laughed Bero. Brom narrowed his eyes but said nothing. _'Hehe, whoops.'_

Eragon and Brom helped the girls get up on the horses and then they went on their way.

"Is he always that...uhm...grumpy?" Wiktoria asked Eragon, thinking of how grumpy Brom had been since they met him.

Eragon chuckled as he responded, "yeah, a bit, but you get used to it."

"So where are you headed to?" Bero asked Brom.

"We will leave you in the nearest village," he answered quickly, not wanting to let the girls know.

But Bero wanted to know. "And that village is...?" She really wanted to know where in Alagaesia had they...landed in, and, where they in the actual story itself?

"You'll know when we get there," murmured Brom impatiently, "can you be quiet for a second? I think I've heard something." He glanced at Eragon, checking if he had also noticed the sound.

"Hmmm...maybe," answered Bero.

Everyone remained quiet after that, listening for whatever sound Brom had heard.

...

...

"So what did you hear?" asked Bero after a few seconds of boredom.

"Shh, I told you to be quiet for a second!" exclaimed Brom.

"But it's already been a second!"

"Yup, and I don't hear anything too," added Wiktoria who looked at Eragon.

"Shh! I'm trying to hear!" said Eragon looking at Wiktoria irritatedly.

"Okay, okay. sorry. I won't say anything from now on," Wiktoria muttered quietly, rolling her eyes.

"Just be quiet!...there it is again.." said Brom.

"Jeez, alright," answered Bero, and then mumbled quietly to herself, "you're no fun."

"Yup, he's definitely no fun," Wiktoria said to Bero and Eragon looked at her impatiently.

" I thought you were serious with this 'I won't say anything from now on' thing," he hissed.

Wiktoria and Bero giggled, having fun at making them angry.

"Enough!" exclaimed Brom, "we will leave you both here to starve if you don't stop talking!"

"Okay, okay, sorry..." murmured Wiktoria.

"You are both behaving like you want to sabotage us!" added Eragon.

"No, we are not! We are just trying to keep a nice conversation going. You two are just really grumpy, " huffed Bero and she crossed her arms. Wiktoria remained quiet. _'They aren't nice at all.'_

"Well, we wouldn't be had you two not been so suspicious. Let's just forget it and move on," muttered Brom.

"Okay, so I can talk again," laughed Wiktoria and looked around, remembering about something. "Where is Saphira?"

Eragon looked stunned and it took all Brom had to not curse loudly. "How about we make a deal. You tell us why you know so much about us and we will tell you where we are going?" Though of course, he wouldn't really tell them. They seemed to know too much already and he didn't like it.

"What do you think?" whispered Wiktoria nervously to Bero. ' _How will we tell them about all the book stuff...?'_

"I don't think they will believe us... but we could try and hope they don't kill us!" whispered Bero back to her.

"So? Will you tell us?" asked Eragon politely, waiting for an answer.

"Yes," sighed Bero. "So you see, we come from...another world and in this world, there is an amazing author that wrote books about your lives...that is why we know you two."

"It's totally true," Wiktoria added and waited for their reaction. _'They don't look like they're believing us'_ She thought as Eragon and Brom stayed silent for a while.

"...and let's suppose this is true, then why and how are you two here?" asked Brom. Another world? That sounded absurd, though it might explain their complete strangeness.

"I don't really know, I was unconscious when I got here," answered Wiktoria fast, not wanting to seem suspicious.

"We were just texting each other and then suddenly we were here," answered Bero.

"What is texting?" asked Eragon confused.

"Something like letters...but much faster," explained Wiktoria.

"Yeah, a way to communicate...oh!"gasped Bero, remembering she still had her phone with her, and she took it out and showed it to them, but it was broken. "aww man! My phone!"

"Oh no, your phone! Mine flew out the window," giggled Wiktoria.

"It probably wouldn't have worked here anyway," sighed Bero and then laughed with Wiktoria.

"What is that?" asked Eragon suddenly filled with curiosity, "may I?"

"It is a phone. See, there's proof we come from another world," said Bero and she handed the phone over to him.

"Yeah! We have proof! Look at this man!" smiled Wiktoria, proud that they could prove they were saying the truth and that they weren't crazy.

Eragon took the phone and examined it curiously. It was a really strange object and he couldn't fathom what it was meant for or how it had been made. It was very light and fit in his palm and its surface was really smooth, though right now, one side was cracked. "And what is this for?"

"It's for messaging, calling, playing games..." answered Wiktoria.

"Here, let me show you," said Bero and she took the phone back from Eragon briefly to turn it on and handed it back. Eragon stared at it in awe as the screen brightened, but it quickly turned back off. "Oh...battery must be drained.."

"But what was that?" asked Eragon and he passed the phone over to Brom.

"It looks..weird.." said Brom, having seen what it had done. "Either they are saying the truth , or this was made with some kind of magic..." he looked at the girls and returned the phone to Bero.

"Nope, no magic. But I guess we can't prove that" answered Bero, taking back the phone and putting it in her pocket. Great, so they still weren't entirely convinced. Now what? "We could, however, tell you what happens in the books," she said after thinking for a bit and looked at Wiktoria to see what she thought.

"Like telling us our future?" asked Eragon.

"That...right. Maybe...we don't know if it will happen," answered Wiktoria.

"Or something only they would know?" suggested Bero.

"That's a good idea! But if they then think that we are spies?" whispered Wiktoria.

"Then we will run for it...again" whispered back Bero and laughed. "No, seriously, I don't know, we'll just have to hope that they don't."

"Okay, so let's just say it," sighed Wiktoria nervously.

"Okay, you tell Eragon something and I'll tell Brom something."

"So, Eragon, I know you found Saphira's egg in the Spine, where Arya sent it after being attacked by Durza, and you took this egg. You wanted to buy meat and pay with it because you thought it was some kind of stone," said Wiktoria, afraid of what Eragon would think.

"I...how did you..know that?" said Eragon and looked at Wiktoria surprised.

Bero leaned in closer to Brom and whispered, "and we know you were once a Dragon Rider. Your dragon's name was also Saphira, whom Eragon named his dragon after you gave him a list of dragon names. And you started the Varden and helped steal Saphira's egg, and then went into hiding in Carvahall as Brom the storyteller." She hoped what she had said was good enough and not too suspicious.

Eragon and Brom looked at them suspiciously and nervously. "How do they know?" Eragon whispered to Brom.

"Either they are saying the truth, or they could be spies. Lousy ones, that is," answered Brom. "But we can't take chances."

"So what will we do?"

"Keep a close watch on them."

"We should go, I think," said Wiktoria

"Yeah, I guess..but where? And will they even let us leave?" Bero wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Here were her favorite characters...untrusting of them...was she sure she wasn't just dreaming?

"No, you are staying with us," said Brom, having heard them. "You obviously know too much."

"So...maybe now you can tell us where we are going?" Wiktoria asked him.

"You did promise you would tell us if we told you about us," said Bero before he could answer with a no.

"Alright," agreed Brom.

"Oh, and where is Saphira?" added Bero.

"We are going to Cesaen. We should be there in a couple of hours," answered Brom.

"And Saphira is out hunting," answered Eragon, not willing to tell them exactly where she was.

"I would love to meet her! In the books she is so wise and funny," said Bero enthusiastically.

"Yeah, me too! I have never seen a dragon before!" smiled Wiktoria, wanting to see one.

"Maybe...but not now. We don't want to gain unwanted attention," said Eragon.

Bero smiled happily at Wiktoria. At least now they were getting somewhere. And who knew what adventures waited for them ahead. She just couldn't wait to find out.


	3. Chapter 3: Serzana

The small group rode on to the town of Cesaen, keeping as quiet as they could. But in the end, curiosity got the best of Brom and Eragon and they ended up bombarding the girls with seemingly endless questions. Wiktoria and Bero were just as excited to tell them all about their world and time quickly passed them by.

"Have you heard that Brom?" asked Eragon suspiciously after suddenly having heard another horse nearby.

"...Yes. Quiet you two," Brom told Wiktoria and Bero. Everyone stopped talking and listened around for the strange noise. After some minutes, they heard the sound of hooves really close to them. They quietly moved closer to the sound, straying away from the path until they saw a horse behind some trees. It didn't have a rider and was leisurely drinking water from a little lake. Brom and Eragon got down from their horses and went to take a closer look.

Bero looked unsure at Wiktoria. "Should we go with them?"

"Maybe, yes. We don't have a sword, but we can hit someone with our bare hands, can't we?" laughed Wiktoria and she too got down from the horse.

"Alright.."answered Bero nervously and followed her to where Brom and Eragon were inspecting the horse. The horse had a black shiny coat, uncomparable to any other horse, and had a majestic air to it.

"Where's its rider?" asked Eragon quietly as he looked at the horse.

"Not too far from here, I would think," answered Brom who inspected the ground for any footprints. "That's no ordinary horse, I surely doubt it would be here by itself."

"What are you all doing here around my horse?" came the voice of someone. They all looked around, but there were too many trees to see who it was.

"Who is there?" asked Brom.

Then the speaker appeared. It was a girl. She had straight brown hair and hazel eyes set against pale skin. She was quite pretty. "I'm sorry if I scared you," she spoke with a calm and melodic voice.

"No, we are sorry to intrude, miss...?" spoke Brom.

"I am Serzana. And you are?" she introduced herself.

"I am Neal and this is my nephew Evan, and those two girls...we found lost and are helping them," Brom pointed to each one respectively and Eragon smiled weakly.

"That's nice of you. Where are you going to?" Serzana asked politely. _I already know who you are, bastards...but who are those girls? I wasn't expecting them._

"Just the next village over. And you?"

"To Cesaen right? I am going there, too...we can travel together. It will be more safe for a girl to travel with you both...and those girls," said Serzana softly. Despite the fact that she was a girl, she had a sword which she could use very well as many people had found out regretfully. Her eyes wandered over to the two girls. _They are not dangerous. Even if Brom and Eragon can be, those girls aren't a challenge for me._ She looked back at Brom, patiently waiting for an answer, and then looked around- that's when her eyes met with Eragon's eyes.

Brom glanced briefly at Eragon. The girl didn't seem like a threat, but he didn't like the strange feeling that came from her. "Yes, we are going to Cesaen for a quick stop. We wouldn't mind the company, but you seem to be doing well on your own.

Bero couldn't stop staring at the girl. Serzana? She didn't remember her from the story. Who was she? Could she be dangerous?

"It's not that far from here, but I have been traveling on my own pretty long. I am a bit tired of it, and your company seems to be..fun," answered Serzana with her melodic voice and smiling at Brom. She seemed to be around 17, maybe 18.

 _Not another girl_ , sighed Brom. "Sure, why not? It is a short way from here. It would be rude of us to say no."

"And the more the merrier," added Eragon. Meanwhile, he was talking to Sapphira and telling her what was going on. _Be careful and sure of what you are doing. For all we know, she could be an enemy, said Saphira._

"Thank you. I will ride on my horse, Asala," Serzana said politely. "Just let me..oh, here it is!" she found her backpack and took it from the ground.

"Good, let's go," said Brom and everyone climbed back on their horses. Before they left, Brom discretely gave Wiktoria and Bero a look to keep quiet, not wanting them to speak of their world to other strangers.

"Aye, go Asala," said Serzana to her beautiful black horse and they all followed Brom back to the trail.

 _I don't know who that girl is...she seems to be nice,_ though,why _can't I look like that? She's quite tall and skinny,_ noticed Wiktoria with jealousy.

"So, Serzana, where are you from?" asked Bero curiously.

"I am from the place where lie usually wins over the truth," answered Serzana mysteriously and looked at Bero with suspicion.

 _Oh no, why riddles?_ thought Bero.

"How can lie win over truth?" asked Eragon, tilting his head to the side.

"There are some places where it can, trust me. One of them is where I grew up," answered Serzana softly, smiling at Eragon.

"And is that place far from here?" asked Eragon, curious to know more of such place.

"It depends on what do you mean by 'far'" she avoided the answer.

Eragon found Serzana interesting and he wanted to know more about her, but he remained quiet, thinking through her answer. Why was she avoiding giving a straight answer?

"Are we almost there?" asked Bero after a while. She was bored. And a bit home sick. Although she was awed and excited to be in Alagaesia, she couldn't help but wonder if they would ever go back home. Was there a way out of here, or were they stuck? She shook the thoughts away and looked at Brom.

"Yes. We should be there soon. Half an hour, maybe," answered Brom.

"Shhh..." said Serzana quietly.

"Okay," said Bero and she started humming a song, not having heard Serzana's quiet hush.

"I said shhh. I've heard something," said Serzana and paused. "There are three men close by, and it looks like they've already heard us. They are probably thieves."

"Whoops, sorry," whispered Bero.

"What?!" exclaimed Brom, not having heard a single thing.

"We can't avoid them. Be ready for a battle," whispered Serzana, drawing out her sword. Brom and Eragon did the same and searched for any sign to validate what Serzana had said.

Saphira noticed Eragon had become tense and asked him what was happening. _I'll be there soon._

 _No, don't come, I think we can handle it,_ Eragon answered, hoping he was right.

 _Uh oh, I don't think we are ready for battle,_ thought Bero, panicking a little and shooting a glance at Wiktoria.

A few minutes later, the thieves appeared. All of them had swords. They looked at the group for a second before attacking them. Serzana was the first to attack back, acting quickly and precise. It was as if she was born with a sword in her hands.

"Wow," whispered Bero, awed by Serzana's skills, and she and Wiktoria carefully held on as Brom and Eragon attacked soon after. They were scared, but couldn't do anything but trust Eragon and Brom.

"Eragon, behind you!" Serzana warned him as she saw a man behind him, unable to help as she was currently fighting with another one.

Bero felt her heart stop as a sword swept very close to her, but Brom managed to counter it in time. _Phew, that was super close!_ she thought before hearing Serzana call out to Eragon. She looked at them and realized Wiktoria was also in danger. "Wiktoria, watch out!"

Serzana instantly killed the man she was fighting with and went to help Eragon. Soon, all the thieves lay dead on the ground. Serzana smiled. "We are safe now."

"That was excellent swordsmanship. Where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Brom suspiciously after they had all settled down and made sure everyone was okay.

"I kind of grew up with a sword in my hands. My father taught me all he knows about fighting...he wanted me to be safe. He was a little bossy, though," she laughed. Her laugh was really delicate but had some kind of secretiveness in it.

"That must come in handy. Your father did an excellent job," said Brom, "let's keep going." The sooner they parted, the better. He didn't like the strange feeling he felt from Serzana.

Bero looked behind at the dead bodies of the thieves as they rode away, awed by how quickly Serzana had taken care of them. _I wish I could be like her._

"Hey, how do you know his name is Eragon?" asked Wiktoria suddenly. "He didn't tell you his name." Everyone looked at Wiktoria and then Serzana, alarmed by not having noticed something as important as that.

 _Oops...oh man. What am I going to do now?_ she thought and then spoke in a calm voice. "Does that even matter? I think not."

 _Maybe yes and maybe not. You're pretty, but you are avoiding a lot of questions,_ thought Wiktoria.

"She is right, I never told you my name was Eragon," said Eragon quietly, "answer the question, how did you know?"

"I recognized you. You're quite popular where I come from," she answered with a polite smile.

 _Then why didn't she say so in the first place,_ thought Bero, which Brom then said out loud.

"I don't really like talking about my past. That's why," she answered fast, almost hissing. "Can we go now or maybe you have any other questions," she added with a soft voice again.

 _She is talking calmly and melodic, but she seems to be nervous,_ thought Wiktoria, looking at Serzana suspiciously.

"We can't travel with you if you are untrustworthy, can you tell me something to prove you are trustworthy?" asked Brom who still kept a hold on his sword.

"I saved Eragon's life. Isn't that proof?" asked Serzana kindly.

"For now," Brom muttered and made his horse continue walking.

 _Looks like we aren't the only untrustworthy one's here,_ thought Bero. _But they questioned us more than her!_

Eragon couldn't think of anything to say, still shocked that Serzana had known his name. She had just saved his life, but everything about her just called out suspicion. And he, recognized? Did that mean she knows about Sapphira? Then why was Brom not doing anything else about it?

 _I don't like her,_ Saphira stated, _Brom might not consider her a big threat, either way, I'll stay close from now on._

"I won't stay in this village we are heading up for long, I think," Serzana spoke up, interrupting the awkward silence that had settled down in the group.

"Is that so? Are you visiting someone?" Brom asked.

"I want to buy a... kind of stone there. Actually, I am heading up to Tarik Roria."

 _That's where we are headed,_ thought Brom, _can it be a coincidence?_

"What kind of stone?" asked Eragon, interested.

"I don't know what kind of stone," Serzana answered after some time, as if thinking about her answer. "People say I'll have a lot of money selling it, so my plan is to buy it cheap, and sell it two times more expensive."

 _Is she telling the truth,_ Wiktoria asked herself, unsure. Suddenly she felt something. Like a little wave of energy. Whatever it was, it seemed to spew out of Serzana, like some kind of magic. She wondered if anyone else felt it. Maybe Saphira, if she was close by. She was suspicious but wasn't sure if she should tell anyone, so she didn't.

 _They can't know. I won't tell them, not now,_ thought Serzana as the group marched on through the words.


	4. Chapter 4: Cesaen

After some time, the group finally arrived to the nearest village, Cesaen.

"Here we are," smiled Eragon.

"Yes, finally!" cheered Bero, excited to see more people from Alagaësia. "So what will we be doing here?"

"You will stay here," answered Eragon, looking at Brom, "right?"

"Right, you two," Brom answered, pointing at Wiktoria and Bero,"are going to look for an inn while Eragon and I are going to do some business. We will catch up later. Here, that should be enough for the inn and for food." He handed the girls money and helped them get down from the horses.

"And what business are you going to do?" Serzana asked as she watched the girls go on their own way.

"That is of our own knowledge," Brom answered curtly. "Let's go, Eragon."

After they had walk for a while, Eragon asked Brom something that had been bothering him. "Brom, aren't we going to leave Wiktoria and Bero here? We aren't taking them to Tarik Roria, right?"

"They know too much about us. If they come across the wrong people...We don't know yet if they are to be trusted, though what they have told us so far, although far fetched, remains consistent. We can't let them leave."

"And what about Serzana? She is heading to Tarik Roria too."

"Yes, and I don't like it. We must keep a close eye on her," answered Brom with a grimace.

"Her horse is really beautiful. But it doesn't look like any I've seen," said Eragon, thinking about the beautiful black creature. It was so majestic!

"Aye, I agree," said Brom. "I wonder where it comes from. And her too. She hasn't answered any questions about herself and where she is from."

"Isn't it so...so...amazing! I just can't believe we really are here! In Alagaësia!" Bero whispered-yelled, unable to control her excitement as she and Wiktoria walked through the streets of Cesaen, looking for an inn as Brom had told them too. In their excitement, though, they had gotten lost and were now wondering through the quieter and emptier streets. Which was a good thing too, seeing as how the girls unusual appearance brought a lot of attention.

"It is great! I have been dreaming about it for so long!" Wiktoria smiled.

"And now that we are here, we have met Eragon! And Brom. Even though he is absolutely no fun," she giggled, but stopped as soon as her eyes caught something. "Hey, look, that's Serzana," she whispered to Bero and pointed to her.

What had mostly caught Wiktoria's attention though was not Serzana, but the person she was with. She was talking with a man that was dressed all in a black and that carried a weapon partially concealed. All in all, he seemed suspicious and gave then the creeps.

"Come on," Bero whispered and grabbed Wiktoria's hand, pulling her away behind a nearby house where they stood hidden from Serzana yet were still close enough to hear her conversation.

"...But milady, I don't have what you want. I never did," said the man.

"I know you do, so you'd better give it to me, or...I'll take it my way. You know what I mean," said Serzana, her voice almost a hiss. "I don't have time for your games! It's me, Serzana!" She exclaimed with a roll of her eyes.

"It's you? I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you. You don't look like you usually do," noticed the man who now seemed much friendlier towards Serzana.

"Wiktoria..." Bero whispered, "I don't know, but I have a feeling she isn't up to anything good..."

"You know, I had a strange feeling some time ago...like Serzana was using some kind of energy, like magic or something...I don't know..," whispered back Wiktoria.

"Really? Maybe we should tell Brom," whispered Bero.

"Yes, I think so...And maybe we should hear from them," Wiktoria pointed at Serzana and the man.

"Yeah," Bero agreed.

"...Argh, good. I'll give it to you! Serzana...does your father know?" the man asked with an evil grin on his face.

"No! And don't dare tell him," Serzana hissed. "I warn you. If you tell him, I will cut your tongue out." Her tone left no doubt that she was serious.

 _I wonder what it is_ , thought Bero and she inched closer, trying to get a better view. They definitely weren't expecting to see what the man gave Serzana.

It was a large stone, about a foot tall with a very smooth surface in a goldish-yellow hue.

"Look, Bero...it look similar to Saphira's egg," Wiktoria whispered as Serzana quickly put the stone away in the bag she carried.

"It does! But I thought only King Galbatorix had dragon eggs!" Bero whispered back, surprised.

"I thought the same thing," Wiktoria whispered suspiciously. They watched as Serzana and the man exchanged a few more words and then parted separate ways.

"Should we follow her? Or the strange man in black?" Bero asked Wiktoria.

"I think we should tell Brom. Serzana and the man...both can fight and have swords," Wiktoria answered quietly.

"Okay, let's go find Brom," Bero said and they both left to find him.

"If I were Brom, where would I be?" Wiktoria asked herself as they found their way back to the crowded streets. "Bero, do you see him?"

"Nope, I don't...oh wait! Is that him over there?" Bero asked, pointing to where she thought she saw him.

"Yes. It is! Come on!" Wiktoria smiled and they hurried through the crowd to where Brom was. "Hey Brom!"

"Brom! We need to talk!"

Brom turned and glared at the girls for having said his name out loud. "About what?" He grumbled.

Bero glanced around them to see if Serzana was anywhere around, feeling relieved when she saw that she wasn't.

"We need to talk about Serzana," Wiktoria whispered nervously. "We saw something suspicious."

"Yes! Very suspicious," Bero added.

"What is it?" Eragon asked, coming back from buying some things.

"Serzana just met with a man in black and..." Wiktoria left off, unsure of how to tell them.

"And...we think that she...that she might have a dragon egg," Bero continued in a whisper so only they could hear.

Brom jumped, surprised. "Are you sure of what you are saying? This is no joking matter!" he growled.

"Shhh...be quiet. We are sure of it," Wiktoria answered nervously. "But...I think we shouldn't ask her about it... here. Look. She met here with a stranger, what if there are more like him here. We should ask her when we are in the forest. She will be alone then," Wiktoria explained what she had in mind.

"That sounds like a good plan. Though it is possible there could be more following her now that she has the egg," Brom said and then sighed, "if what you say is true, then no one will say a word about it until we reach the forest." Brom frowned. "You two need new clothes though, you stand out too much in whatever it is that you are wearing," he said, noticing people pointing at the girls. "Have you found an inn to stay in yet?"

"Umm...not really, as we were watching Serzana," Wiktoria answered.

"I found an inn, want to stay in there for some time?" Serzana asked as she walked up to them with a smile.

"Yes, that would be nice, as these two couldn't find one," answered Brom. "When are you leaving to Tarik Roria, if you don't mind me asking."

"Maybe today or tomorrow. I want to stay for a while, have a rest and go. Why do you ask?" Serzana asked politely.

"Just curious, since we are heading the same way, it would be fitting to travel there together, right?" answered Brom.

Eragon cleared his throat and added, "we would love your company."

Bero looked at Serzana, wondering if she had heard that they had been talking about her. She hoped not.

"It would be a pleasure for me to travel with you all. I really enjoyed your company, especially yours Eragon," Serzana smiled at Eragon in a friendly way. "So when do you want to go. Today or tomorrow?" she asked politely.

 _Phew, she didn't hear us talking. Good_ , thought Wiktoria.

Eragon smiled back at Serzana, "we were thinking tomorrow morning."

"Great! We can have some rest. Asala needs it too, I think," laughed Serzana, "come on, the inn is over there," she pointed at an old inn. "We don't have to pay anything," she said proudly.

"Thank you, Serzana. You girls go ahead, Eragon and I still have some things we need to do," said Brom and he left with Eragon.

"Come on girls. Maybe we will go and eat something?" Serzan asked and led the girls to a very old looking building.

"O..okay," stuttered Bero, feeling very nervous near Serzana after what they had seen.

"Come with me," Serzana smiled as she walked inside. "Renald, give us some food please. Maybe the delicious food you used to give me when I was small," she told the old man by the counter.

"Of course," he nodded and went into the kitchen.

"Come on girls, just sit here and wait a little," she told Wiktoria and Bero and pointed at the chairs. "I hope you'll like it," she smiled as she sat next to them.

 _And I hope it won't be poisoned or something_ , Wiktoria thought to herself.

"Wait, so you've come here often?" Bero asked. _I'd better not let anything slip from my mouth_ , she thought, knowing very well that sometimes she'd accidentally say what she shouldn't.

"No, not really," answered Serzana.

"Oh..." Bero said and remained quiet after that. What else could you say to someone who could possibly be an enemy? And now that Bero thought about it, where was Saphira? She was dying to meet her.

"Here you are, girls," after some time the old man brought out three bowls of soup and handed it to them.

"Thank you, Renald," Serzana smiled at the old man and he left back to the kitchen. She started to eat her soup but the girls just warily watched her.

 _I don't know if I should eat this, but it would be rude not to..._ , thought Bero as she stared down at the soup in front of her. She picked up her spoon and slowly ate a spoonful. "Mmmm...this tastes really good," she spoke, surprised by the rich, delicious flavors.

"So, how do you like it," Serzana asked Wiktoria.

Wiktoria tried it and... _It's not that bad. Actually it's pretty good_ , she thought. "I like it. Thanks," she smiled at Serzana.

"It's good to know you like it," Serzana smiled back.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence.

"What are we going to do now?" Wiktoria asked once they were finished.

"We should go find Eragon and Brom," Serzana answered calmly.

"Okay, so let's go look for them," Wiktoria said and stood up to go outside.

"Are you sure? They seem to want to be left alone," Bero said, following her.

"I don't know. Maybe we should just go to an inn and wait for them," Serzana stopped Wiktoria. "What do you think?"

"Just go to the inn. I'm a little bit tired," answered Wiktoria.

"Sure, come with me," Serzana answered softly and led them to the inn.

"Do you think Serzana really has a dragon egg?" Eragon whispered to Brom as they walked through the village. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

"I don't know who we can trust more. Serzana or those two girls. We could ask Serzana if we could have a look at her bag. If she doesn't let us, it means she is hiding something," answered Brom.

"If she even has a dragon egg. How could it be possible?" Eragon asked.

"It could be possible if she was able to steal it from Galbatorix. Or if she is working for him. Either way, if she has a dragon egg, she could still be against us and that would be dangerous.

"I don't know what to think. I kind of like her, even if she is supicious," said Eragon with a smile. "Do you think she is using magic?" Eragon asked suddenly.

"She could be a magic user. That would make her very very dangerous," answered Brom, "and don't get sidetracked."

"Sorry," Eragon said. "I just wonder because I felt...something. I'm not sure, but I think she used it once or more." _Who is she?_ he thought. _Even if he liked her she could be dangerous. He didn't know much about her. But she saved his life..._

"Felt what?"

"It was like a small wave of energy. But I don't know what it did."

Brom raised his eyebrow. "A small wave of energy? And how do you feel?"

"Normal. I don't think she used it on me. Or on anyone else...maybe on herself..," Eragon answered thinking it through.

"On herself..." muttered Brom and fell into his own thoughts. He didn't like what was going on. First, they had to hurry and meet someone in the next village. Now these three girls appeared, all acting suspicious and one possibly with a dragon egg.

"Maybe she wants to hide her appearance? And she is doing it with magic, hiding behind an illusion?" Eragon said, suddenly coming up with the idea.

"But for what reason? I can search for traces of magic on her."

"I don't know. If she is against us, she might want to hide her real look so we can't recognize her later. If you could check it, that would be great," said Eragon.

"Yes, I will, though it might be better to do so until we are in the forest," said Brom. "For now, let's go back to the girls."

"Yes, let's go."

 _I didn't sense any magic coming fom her before. What I don't know is if those girls are working together with Serzana..._ , thought Brom. _They don't seem to be able to fight, but it could still be a trap..._


	5. Chapter 5: Could it be?

"I want to go to sleeeeeep," Wiktoria stated as they waited for Brom and Eragon to be back.

"I'm tired too," said Serzana, "oh, look. Here they are." She pointed at Brom and Eragon as they walked in.

"Hello," Eragon smiled at them.

Brom walked in and handed Wiktoria and Bero a bag. "Here, change into those. They call for less...attention."

"Thank you," Wiktoria smiled at him, "that's nice of you."

"Not nice, just cautious," Brom corrected.

"Okay, so...we will be back in some time...come Bero, let's change into these clothes," Wiktoria said and she and Bero left.

"Hello Eragon," Serzana smiled to him. "You should regret you weren't with us. We have eaten the best soup in this village!" she laughed. "So what about your business? Are you ready to travel? Or not yet?"

"Our business is taken care of. Do you wish to leave already?" Brom asked.

"If you want to leave tomorrow, we will leave tomorrow," Serzana smiled politely. "But I don't like to stay in one place for too long. I like to travel, even if it's tough sometimes."

"We could leave tonight...we are in no hurry. But traveling at night is much better for us," said Brom.

"You decide. I can leave today or tomorrow. It doesn't make any difference to me. What do you think Eragon? When would you like to leave?" Serzana asked. _I would like to leave as fast as possible though. And I hope they won't know about my illusion,_ she thought, worrying a little.

"Then, let's leave tonight," Brom decided. _The sooner we find out, the better._

"Tonight would be the best," answered Eragon. For him, the sooner he was close to Saphira, the better he felt.

"Good. When?" Serzana answered rather quickly. _The sooner the better. I don't want to be recognized by accident in this village. Especially when some people know I am here._

"Right now," answered Brom, sharing a look with Eragon. "Eragon and I already filled up our supplies.

"Great. I am ready. We just have to wait for those girls," Serzana said.

"And why do you want to go to Tarik Roria?" Eragon asked as they waited for Wiktoria and Bero.

"I want to visit someone," Serzana answered with a mysterious smile.

"Who are you visiting? A family? Friend?" Eragon asked, curious as always.

"A friend. But that is all business. Nothing more."

"There. Is this better," Bero asked, coming back from changing into the clothes Brom had gotten for them. Now they didn't look so out of place.

"Yes, that is better," Brom answered. "Now, come on. We are leaving."

"Leaving? Now? Weren't we going to leave tomorrow?" Wiktoria asked.

"Not anymore. Leaving right now is better."

Bero looked at Brom confused, wondering why the sudden change, but just shrugged and went along with it. "Okaaaaay then..."

"So come on. My horse is ready," Serzana said and went outside. Everyone followed and soon they departed from the village. They traveled well into the night, silence being their faithful companion as they reached the forest and rode on the lonely road towards Tarik Roria.

 _I wonder why we left that soon...but we're in the forest now. We can talk to Serzana...but I won't start it, definitely,_ Wiktoria thought to herself, feeling nervous.

Bero kept waiting, willing herself to not fall asleep. She was tired. Especially after everything that had happened to them in such a short amount of time. After all, it was only a few hours ago that she had been home in Earth...wherever that was now. Never had she thought it would be possible to be in Alagaësia and she didn't want to miss a single second. And there was also the pending talk with Serzana. And the egg...could Serzana really have one? Bero guessed that if anyone would speak up about it, it would be Brom. But Brom remained quiet.

It was until nearly dawn that Brom spoke. "Let's stop for a break."

"Sure, it is about time our horses have a break. Right Eragon?" Serzana smiled to him.

"Right," Eragon smiled back, though he was feeling nervous. Would they confront her now? They hadn't had a proper rest yet, though if there was a fight, he knew he'd be able to fight back.

"Okay, this is a good place for a quick break," Serzana said and jumped off her horse. Everyone followed suit.

"Then, everyone, get some sleep. I will keep watch," Brom said and sat by a tree, leaning against it.

Eragon murmured that he would be back shortly and ran off somewhere. The girls watched after him, guessing that he was going with Saphira. _I would like to see her_ , thought Bero, but maybe it wouldn't be nice to intrude their moment. Instead, she settled down to sleep and soon Wiktoria and Serzana fell asleep too.

Brom kept a close eye on them. Especially Serzana. While they had been traveling, he tried to discern if anyone had been following them, but hadn't heard anything. What he had found out though, was how often Serzana would look at her bag.

He looked at Serzana and grimaced, noticing that she kept the bag close to her. He wouldn't be able to check it right now. He hoped they would clear this situation soon. They still had to hurry to Tarik Roria before anyone else found out..

Eragon returned later after having talked with Saphira, who insisted she remained close by.

"Is she okay?" Brom asked Eragon as the boy sat next to him.

"Yes, but she wanted to stay close. She only agreed to take a quick look around," Eragon stated. "How about the other situation?"

Brom only shook his head in answer. But that reminded him. Eragon had said he suspected Serzana was using magic. Brom stared at Serzana. It looked like she was sleeping. He decided to quickly check her for magic.

"Brom?" Eragon whispered questioningly.

"Nothing. Just get some rest," Brom whispered back. He didn't like what he had found.

Morning came and the girls woke up, feeling more rested.

"Wiktoria?" Bero called out. "Are you still here?"

"Yes...why?" Wiktoria asked.

"Just making sure I was not dreaming," Bero answered happily. She stretched and stood up, only then noticing Brom and Eragon weren't there.

"Serzana...have you seen Brom?" Bero asked.

"Yes, they are coming," Serzana said and pointed towards where Eragon and Brom were now coming from. Both their expressions were guarded and they kept a distance between them and the girls.

"Are we leaving now?" Bero asked.

Brom ignored her and turned his gaze to Serzana. "Serzana, before we travel any further, may I look into your bag?"

"Why do you want to do that? It's mine and it's definitely not your business, right?" Serzana said politely but raised her eyebrow a little. _Is it possible they suspect something?_

"Normally it wouldn't be my business. But we are traveling together and something is off about you. Why are you in a hurry to leave?" asked Brom.

"I don't like to stay in one place for too long," she answered quickly, as if she had been taught what to say.

"Then if you aren't hiding anything, there won't be a problem if we checked your bag?" Brom asked, his hand ready to draw his sword if needed.

"No. You can't do that. I won't let you check it," Serzana said nervously, her gaze going to where her bag laid, only a few feet away.

"Then we will have to by force," Brom said and nodded his head to Eragon and they both took out their swords.

Bero and Wiktoria looked at each other and then quietly parted away from Serzana and the men, putting as much distance as they could from the oncoming fight. They wouldn't be able to help even if they wanted to. Hopefully they weren't wrong about the egg though, otherwise Brom would be sure to doubt their word from then on.

Serzana's hand rested on her sword, ready to attack if needed. She looked at Brom and Eragon, letting them know she wouldn't be changing her mind.

"Should we do something?" Bero whispered to Wiktoria. She couldn't help but ask, nervousness clinging on to her.

"That could be dangerous," Wiktoria whispered back, just as nervous as her, "let's just watch for now. If they need our help, we will help them."

"Mmkay," Bero nodded slowly. Both sides remained still, watching each other as they waited for the first move to be made.

"Let me leave and it won't have a bloody end," Serzana said slowly.

"What is it you are hiding, Serzana?" Brom asked while he and Eragon slowly cornered her.

"Stop doing that," Serzana hissed, noticing what they were doing. "I don't want to fight. Let me leave."

"We can't do that," Brom answered," just give us your bag or tell us what you are hiding and we won't hurt you."

"It's nothing more than some daggers, food and money," she stated nervously.

"That isn't valuable enough to protect with you own life," Brom noted, narrowing his eyes.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed at him.

"Serzana, calm down," Brom said

Eragon slowly inched closer to Serzana while her attention was still focused on Brom.

"What if I don't?" Serzana asked with anger in her voice, even if she was feeling scared.

"Do you have to ask? Brom raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"I will say if one more time: let me leave and I won't hurt you," Serzana promised, her focus still on Brom.

"The answer is no. We won't let you leave." Brom lunged forward and attacked, distracting Serzana when he noticed Eragon had made his way around and was now behind her. Serzana defended herself, not noticing Eragon.

Eragon stepped closer, careful not to make a sound, and took Serzana's bag and quickly hid behind a tree.

"Serzana, we don't have to fight," Brom said as he noticed Eragon had gotten the bag.

"We don't have to? You attacked me first!" She hissed. "I have never wanted to fight."

Eragon took a look at Serzana. She still hadn't noticed. Holding his breath, he looked inside her bag. _No way._ The girls weren't lying. Inside was a real dragon egg. It looked similar like Saphira's had been. Except this one was in a yellow, golden hue.

"Brom!" Eragon exclaimed and took the egg out of the bag, coming out from behind the tree and holding the egg up for all to see. And see they did. Everyone turned to look at him.

"It is an egg!" Bero gasped.

"Oh no!" Serzana covered her mouth with her hand. Her shock soon faded into anger. "Give it back!" She yelled at Eragon, completely forgetting about Brom. She felt scared and lost. She didn't know what to do anymore.

Brom took the chance and knocked out Serzana's sword from her hand. "Speak," he said as he pointed his sword at her.

"Eragon? Please...stop him," Serzana turned to Eragon and begged, fear evident in her voice. "I don't want to die! I saved your life, now save mine!" _I could of course use magic, but I don't want to hurt them,_ she thought.

"How did you get this?" Eragon asked instead. He didn't like seeing her beg, but they had to know about the egg.

"I received it from the man I was talking with," Serzana asked. _No matter what I can't let them see my... real me. I'll use magic to underpin my illusion,_ she thought and did so.

"Which man? And in exchange for what?"

"There wasn't any exchange."

"It's a dragon egg! No one gives you a dragon egg for nothing!"

"If he knows me, he does. Why do you both treat me like an enemy? I'm with you, not against you," Serzana answered nervously.

 _You definitely don't behave like you're with us,_ thought Wiktoria

"You are keeping secrets," said Brom, "and that is dangerous for us." He sensed the magic again coming from her. But could he stop it?

"I can't tell you everything. You won't understand," Serzana rolled her eyes.

"Try us,"said Eragon who still had the dragon egg in his hands, remembering when he first held Sapphira's egg. Meanwhile Brom diligently worked on stopping whatever magic it was that Serzana was using.

"I won't te-" Serzana began answering, but stopped when she felt something. Whatever Brom did, it worked. The illusion spell Serzana had been using disappeared. Her eyes turned from hazel to green. Her brown hair was now straight, long and red. Red as the color of blood.

Silence took over as everyone remained frozen in place, stunned by Serzana's change.

"Who are you?" Brom asked.

"My appearance changed but not my name," Serzana answered quietly.

"Never mind the name! Who are you, who do you work for, and how did you get that dragon egg," Brom snapped.

"I don't work for anyone," she said unsure of what she could and what she couldn't say. "I wanted a dragon egg so I received it, and now let me go."

"We can't let you go," Brom said, "unless you let me check your memories..."

"What? No!" Serzana shouted. "Why?!"

"Because we can't trust you. Either it's that or you will have to travel with us with your hands bound until we know more about you."

"E..Eragon? Say something!" Serzana turned to him and pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but he is right," answered Eragon, although he was unsure. He debated the topic with Saphira, who wanted to be by Eragon's side at the moment. _We don't know what she is capable of,_ Saphira stated. _We got it under control,_ Eragon said, _just stay close but don't let yourself be seen._

"But...you see? That's why I always wear this illusion. This is what happens when people see me without it!" Serzana looked lost and worried.

"Our main worry is the dragon egg. Dragon eggs are not just laying about for anyone who wants one, so where did this one come from? How did you're friend get it? Or are you working for Galbatorix?"asked Brom.

"No! I don't work for him. I'm not like my father," Serzana muttered.

"And who is your father?"

"Oh come on, look at me! Don't say you don't know!" Serzana hissed.

Eragon cocked his head to the side, confused, and took a good look at her. And then it hit him. Why didn't he think of it earlier. But was it even possible?

"...Durza?" asked Eragon quietly, hoping it wasn't true.

"Yes."


End file.
